Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Makes New $4.87 Million Investment in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 17,200 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,868,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.0% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR traded down $8.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $253.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,032,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,789,115. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.62. The company has a market cap of $148.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.37. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $207.50 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.50% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PGR. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.94.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total value of $691,398.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,451,160.43. This represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $1,041,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,289 shares in the company, valued at $10,750,829.82. This represents a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,705 shares of company stock valued at $11,450,948 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.